Trunk Tracking assistance needed

ArloG
Posts: 7
Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2020 2:35 pm

Trunk Tracking assistance needed

#1

Unread post by ArloG »

I put up a post on FB some time ago and Simon got wind of it. He suggested that I ask in this forum.

Firstly I'm giving SDR Console another go. Starting all over like it's day one basically.
I use an Asus laptop as my main computer and am attempting my previous fails at tuning with the built in touch pad and keyboard.

I'm using an Icom IC-R8600 with SDR Console. I also have a DSD+ Fastlane subscription.
Trunking is new to me. Very new. Mostly because I haven't gotten much luck in receiving any voice traffic. At all.
I DO have an SDRPlay RSP2 and was a bit successful in getting a few spotty receptions and a little experience creating startup batch files.
I understand a little bit about FMPXX linking. But not enough to make me dangerous.

Ive read the short help page on getting trunking to work with SDR Console and DSD+ with my R8600.
I get a few strong P25 "control channel" frequencies. Some NXDN and DMR frequencies also.

Concentrating on P25. I've never gotten the radio to give voice using the native digital decoder in the R8600.
Using HDSDR with DSD+ in passive digital monitor mode with VB Cable I've received some "spotty" voice traffic. I've varied bandwidth and signal strengths to get a consistent stream of data in the DSD+ main window. I see that the freq. is in fact a CC.
But obviously there is also VC traffic on it.
So far with SDR Console. Nothing. Not a peep.

Here goes.
I would like to get a mental "flow chart" of what's happening in the startup .bat file in Console.
Also how to set it up with my R8600 to (if possible) to trunk track. I have DSD+ -h opened in the program.

The default startup script is:

DSDPlus.exe -rc -i1m -v2 -f1 -wsl453.1034 -wss100.256 -wel0.1 -weh15 -wcl0.445 -wes200.500 -wcl0.455 -wch15 >>CC.log -_1 -E -e -t

-rc role is dedicated control/rest channel decoder. Got that. What it actually is doing....not so sure!

-i1m A little bit spotty on this one. It says a few different things.
-i<spec> Input audio device (1-255) and channel (M/L/R)
-i<linkID> FMPA/FMPP/FMP24 direct link ID (256-65535) [20001]
So. -i1m I can't grasp. Help?

-v<num> Frame information verbosity (0-4) [-v3].
Kind of got this one. How much info. Is displayed. We're at a setting of 2. Does it make a difference with voice decoding?

-wsl453.1034 -wss100.256 -wel0.1 -weh15 -wcl0.445 -wes200.500 -wcl0.455 -wch15
Okay. These are just window positions. Probably will need a few settings adjustments or my laptop screen (it's 1920X1080). The Control Channel window is minimized on the taskbar.

The CC.log settings. Don't know if that has anything to do with voice decoding.
Event Log, P25 CC Channel Activity Monitor, CC Current Groups, and CC All Current Radios all populate with information. The CC DSD+ window scrolls as it usually does.
A sample:

Sync:+P25p1 NAC:94F PDU NET_STS_BCST
Sync:+P25p1 NAC:94F TDU
Sync:+P25p1 NAC:94F TSDU MOT_BSI_GRANT
IDEN_UP_TDMA
IDEN_UP_TDMA
Sync:+P25p1 NAC:94F TSDU Opcode= 5 MFID=90
Opcode=22 MFID=90
IDEN_UP_TDMA
Sync:+P25p1 NAC:94F PDU ADJ_STS_BCST
Sync:+P25p1 NAC:94F TDU
Sync:+P25p1 NAC:94F TSDU IDEN_UP_TDMA
IDEN_UP_TDMA
SYNC_BCST
Sync:+P25p1 NAC:94F TSDU IDEN_UP_TDMA
SN-DATA_CHN_ANN_EXP
IDEN_UP_TDMA
Sync:+P25p1 NAC:94F PDU RFSS_STS_BCST


I don't really want a fish given to me. A few fishing tips would be nice though. Then we can go fishing together.

Am I able to "frequency hop" with the SDR Console Trunk Voice Following plugin like my RSP2 does?
I guess a bit of a flowchart and concept in depth of what's going on or has to happen would be helpful.
How do the different receivers added interact with it?
I'm guessing I have to manually set the additional receivers to a voice channel frequency?
SDR Console doesn't have an in-your-face squelch setting. And not so sure if it can be set independently of additional radios.
Although that's not needed with DSD+ I suspect.

If anyone could offer insight on getting this to work with my radio. I'd be grateful.

ArloG
Posts: 7
Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2020 2:35 pm

Re: Trunk Tracking assistance needed

#2

Unread post by ArloG »

Nobody yet?
Wow!

Max
Posts: 943
Joined: Thu Aug 13, 2020 9:47 am

Re: Trunk Tracking assistance needed

#3

Unread post by Max »

ArloG wrote: Wed Nov 03, 2021 5:28 pm
Am I able to "frequency hop" with the SDR Console Trunk Voice Following plugin like my RSP2 does?
I guess a bit of a flowchart and concept in depth of what's going on or has to happen would be helpful.
How do the different receivers added interact with it?
I'm guessing I have to manually set the additional receivers to a voice channel frequency?
SDR Console doesn't have an in-your-face squelch setting. And not so sure if it can be set independently of additional radios.
Although that's not needed with DSD+ I suspect.

If anyone could offer insight on getting this to work with my radio. I'd be grateful.
I'm cross posting from my response to your other query (Receiver Pane settings) in the hope someone can help you with this one, so here it is:

I don't have much of an idea what trunked radio is about yet, as I've never tried it. SDRC does very little in the way of scanning but perhaps DSD+ does "scanning" of different channels in a multiplex if that's what it's all about? CAT instructions can be sent from external programs to SDRC to change frequency, like with CSV User List Browser for example, where clicking in the frequency list will tune SDRC remotely. I don't have any idea about similar functionality within DSD+. There is no native scanning function SDRC yet. I'm actually not 100% sure there is ever likely to be. Only Simon will know what he has in mind. I think it's on his list but maybe not very high up!

I've used DSD+ to monitor my local amateur radio digital DMR repeater. It works fine. I get data to DSD+ by use of a virtual audio cable (VAC) which works perfectly OK. Was that part of what you were asking in your other post?

Sorry, beyond that it's not at all my area so can't really help further. I think SDRC is primarily used by radio amateurs (that's mostly what Simon wrote it for...... the rest of us are just lucky to be able to piggy back on his own product for free, well hopefully donations!) and we tend to have somewhat less complex needs i.e. tune one signal at a time, or maybe split operation RX/TX and that is SDRCs forte, but that's not to say there are not others on her that may be able to help, although in my time on the SDRC forums I can hardly remember any other mention of trunked radio and not many of DSD+, but you may wish to search the other parallel group as it's been going longer and there may well be some worthwhile info on there if you have a good dig around:

https://sdr-radio.groups.io/g/main/topics

Don't know if that's any help but others may come along who are better equipped to answer. Anyone managed received trunked radio using SDRC and maybe DSD+?

Max

Max
Posts: 943
Joined: Thu Aug 13, 2020 9:47 am

Re: Trunk Tracking assistance needed

#4

Unread post by Max »

Did you see this? Seems a guide to exactly what you want to do perhaps?



Max

ArloG
Posts: 7
Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2020 2:35 pm

Re: Trunk Tracking assistance needed

#5

Unread post by ArloG »

Yes I did. I didn't want to "clutter" this site with queries before I did my research.
Unitrunker doesn't like my Icom.

As you observed. My question is a bit wordy. I was hoping to keep the back-and forth replies to a minimum.

I had asked a similar question on a Facebook group some months ago. Simon happened to see it and suggested that I post the question here.
I did purchase a lifetime supscription to DSD+ Fastlane.
Before asking here I simply read the guide(s), experimented, and exhausted my attempts to monitor a Control Channel and Voice Channels and get my radio to tune to voice when active.
I also asked that group if it were possible to add support for radios like mine. I got no answer. Not a peep.

I'm happy that Simon added support for my R8600.
A brilliant person enabled support for it and other EXTIO drivers for SDRSharp. They (#) got peed off and quickly disabled it.
They are very centered on the RTL and SDRPlay devices (radios).
Even thought the code is supposed to be open source and they encourage others to add plugins for for it. I'm still using the last version a little bit that the R8600 will run.

The guide Simon gave for trunking seems easy enough. But, I seem to have come to a stand still using it.
Thank you for your interest. Maybe we can get a little assistance.

Max
Posts: 943
Joined: Thu Aug 13, 2020 9:47 am

Re: Trunk Tracking assistance needed

#6

Unread post by Max »

Hopefully someone else in the group with more knowledge will pick this up. As I said it's not a common subject on here but I'm sure there will be someone who has done it.

Unfortunately I'm very "time poor" as I don't have time to look at it further but if I do have some spare time I will try to do so because it's of interest to me too.

Good luck with finding more info. Anyone?

Max

Max
Posts: 943
Joined: Thu Aug 13, 2020 9:47 am

Re: Trunk Tracking assistance needed

#7

Unread post by Max »

Just looked into this a little further and I note that as far as I can see, the situation is that, unlike in the USA, there is very little trunked traffic to monitor here in the UK. The situation may be similar in Europe? That may explain why the small amount of information on here about it as many of the contributors on here are from the UK and EU, and a high proportion of radio amateurs at that so perhaps not their thing so much?

As I say, I have used DSD+ to successfully monitor my local amateur radio DMR repeater with SDRC driving a VAC to DSD+.

Anyway, good luck with it. There may still be an expert on here somewhere!

Max

ArloG
Posts: 7
Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2020 2:35 pm

Re: Trunk Tracking assistance needed

#8

Unread post by ArloG »

There is a response in the FB Icom IC-R8600 Receiver Owners group pertaining to this post.

oe5kbo
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Nov 20, 2021 10:16 pm

Re: Trunk Tracking assistance needed

#9

Unread post by oe5kbo »

hallo i need help for installing the Programm TTT1.8.6.0 for SDR Tetra.

I want to know which programm the users have, and need help by installation this programm.

Thanks for reply and helping solidarität. 73 de karl oe5kbo

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